Dubai: The 21 miniatures of the Burj Khalifa painted by distinguished Emirati artists raised more than Dh1 million yesterday at the “Burj of Giving” event at the Ara Gallery, Burj Plaza in Downtown Dubai.

The proceeds of the initiative will go directly to the programmes of Dubai Cares, which currently helps seven million children in 28 developing countries.

“The concept of giving and volunteerism has changed for the past few years. But we still lack proper methodologies to do it,” Tariq Al Gurg, Dubai Cares CEO, said.

“In the West, they have a system for this after students graduate. In this region, we don’t have it yet. But thanks to this there’s an opportunity for that,” he added.

Twenty Burj Khalifa sculptures were sponsored by different corporations while one sculpture, painted by renowned Emirati artist Abdul Qader Al Rayes was auctioned and sold to the highest bidder at Dh130,000.

“The beauty of this initiative is that we are able to work on something that we can give to others,” renowned Emirati artist Abdul Qader Al Rayes, told Gulf News.

“In this country, we live a good life, we have what we need. We should also think of those who have nothing,” he added.

Emirati artist Aliah Hussain Lootah, who contributed three sculptures to the initiative, said it was her first time to use her craft to help others.

“This is a good way of giving back to society and this event encourages other people to do the same thing,” Lootah told Gulf News.

Her works included a portrayal of the Burj Khalifa during sunrise as shown in the gold leaf and black motif of one of the sculptures. The other one depicted the Burj Khalifa at night, and the other one featured various stickman characters hanging from the iconic structure.

Young Emirati artist Maisoon Al Saleh said she worked on her sculpture for a month, using mixed media to present her view of the iconic structure.

“This is about the construction of the building itself. If you step away, you’ll see the Burj Khalifa. But if you look closer, you’ll see spine, or the skeleton, the people who built it. It’s my take on the surrealist approach on the development of the society,” Al Saleh said.

Other artists who contributed their time, effort, and craft include Khawla Darwish, Dana Al Mazroui, Maryam Al Sayegh, Khulood Mohammad Ali Jabri, Maitha Demithan, Khalid Al Jallaf, Abdul Rauf Khalifan Al Mawali, Mattar Bin Lahej, Najat Makki, Aliah Abdul Hakim Al Malik, Nada Khalid Mohammad, Khalifa Al Shimy, Sarah and Ebrahim Nasser.

For photos visit www.gulfnews.com